Free Massages for Cancer Patients
Donation protected
Hello everyone, my name is David Bartley. I'm 57 years old and live in Canton, Michigan. I graduated from The Ann Arbor Institute of Massage Therapy in 2013 and recieved my license shortly after that. I have practiced in the field for the past 2 years but had not yet found my niche.
Well, I feel I have found it now. I have just shared the most wonderful experience with some people that I had never met before, patients suffering from cancer. I am finishing up my Oncology and Medical Massage course at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan.
During this course we go and give free hand and foot massages to patients that are getting chemotherapy treatments, recovering from cancer surgery or are in the hospice ward.
The first patient that I worked on was in the infusion room.
(This is where they are given the chemotherapy drugs to help kill the cancer. This medicine works to kill all fast reproducing cells in the body. That means healthy cells as well as cancer cells. The side effects are many including fatigue, memory changes, diarrhea, constipation and the list goes on. It wipes out your immune system leaving you susceptible to all kinds of infections.)
The connection that was made as I massaged his feet while we talked (seemed like we knew each other for years) was amazing. It made my heart swell as the patient expressed his feelings of pain relief, enjoyment and gratitude. When I worked on other patient's that day, I had almost the same experience. WOW! I was blown away.
Each person I cared for was so nice and grateful for the gift I provided them during their scary and unsure journey. They all said the same thing," Why aren't you here everyday giving massages? "
The gift they were receiving was that of someone taking the time to consider them still human, bring them a little peace and comfort which allowed them to forget about what was going on in that room for a little while.
For me the gift was being able to give them that small amount of my time. It was so clean and pure, I could have stayed there all day.
Well, I need your help to give that same gift to so many other's that have been stricken with many types of cancer.
Most insurance companies will not pay for alternate therapies to help these patients in this condition.
Help me give them some peace to forget about where they are and why. Believe me, they can't run, they can't hide from this journey there on, but a little break can give them the rest they need to keep up the fight.
I Thank You! in advance for any donations for this cause.
Thank You!
David Bartley, LMT
Well, I feel I have found it now. I have just shared the most wonderful experience with some people that I had never met before, patients suffering from cancer. I am finishing up my Oncology and Medical Massage course at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan.
During this course we go and give free hand and foot massages to patients that are getting chemotherapy treatments, recovering from cancer surgery or are in the hospice ward.
The first patient that I worked on was in the infusion room.
(This is where they are given the chemotherapy drugs to help kill the cancer. This medicine works to kill all fast reproducing cells in the body. That means healthy cells as well as cancer cells. The side effects are many including fatigue, memory changes, diarrhea, constipation and the list goes on. It wipes out your immune system leaving you susceptible to all kinds of infections.)
The connection that was made as I massaged his feet while we talked (seemed like we knew each other for years) was amazing. It made my heart swell as the patient expressed his feelings of pain relief, enjoyment and gratitude. When I worked on other patient's that day, I had almost the same experience. WOW! I was blown away.
Each person I cared for was so nice and grateful for the gift I provided them during their scary and unsure journey. They all said the same thing," Why aren't you here everyday giving massages? "
The gift they were receiving was that of someone taking the time to consider them still human, bring them a little peace and comfort which allowed them to forget about what was going on in that room for a little while.
For me the gift was being able to give them that small amount of my time. It was so clean and pure, I could have stayed there all day.
Well, I need your help to give that same gift to so many other's that have been stricken with many types of cancer.
Most insurance companies will not pay for alternate therapies to help these patients in this condition.
Help me give them some peace to forget about where they are and why. Believe me, they can't run, they can't hide from this journey there on, but a little break can give them the rest they need to keep up the fight.
I Thank You! in advance for any donations for this cause.
Thank You!
David Bartley, LMT
Organizer
David Bartley
Organizer
Canton Township, MI
